Jakob writes:
"Our usability studies show that more than half of all users are
search-dominant, about a fifth of the users are link-dominant, and
the rest exhibit mixed behavior. The search-dominant users will
usually go straight for the search button when they enter a website:
they are not interested in looking around the site; they are
task-focused and want to find specific information as fast as
possible."

However, like others on this list I, too, question the validity of
this 1997 notion in 2003. With regard to Jared's comment that people
who have to use search are more likely to fail to achieve their
goals, I think there is a simple explanation.

I routinely see users head for the search button AFTER they've tried
to find what they're looking for using the site's traditional
hierarchy. (Jared mentions that users hit search when they fail to
find the right trigger words on the page.)

More often than not one of two problems is present: the logical
structure of the site is a mess or the navigation is tough to
use/figure out. In other words, it seems to me that hitting the
search button signals other basic findability problems on the site.
Couple this with a certain degree of irritation/frustration on the
part of the user at this juncture and I'm not surprised the failure
rates are higher.

Regards,
Eric

e-reiss.com
copenhagen, denmark

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eric reiss
principal
e-reiss aps
copenhagen, denmark
http://www.e-reiss.com
office: (+45) 39 29 67 77
mobile: (+45) 20 12 88 44
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